not sure why this is in philosophy...

Yes, the death penalty as it is currently applied in the United States is "unjust." The death penalty is imposed in disproportional rates against minorities, the poor and males.

While justice is supposed to be blind, in reality the death penalty is not applied equally to all capital offenders. In real-life it is applied arbitrarily based upon factors such as the location the crime was committed, the quality of the accuser's defense counsel or the race of the victim and/or defendant.

Prosecutors are give great discretion about seeking the death penalty as opposed to making a plea bargain. This results in those can only afford a minimal defense, or are represented by public defenders, being selected to face the penalty.

Until these issue are addressed the death penalty is fundamentally unfair and its application flawed.

It is not justified

Govt. Follows an eye for an eye rule which is not good for mankind. It may seem good to the society in general view but is unfair if we see it through the eyes of humanity. It should be stopped as soon as possible and a new system should be there.

It is not justified

Govt. Follows an eye for an eye rule which is not good for mankind. It may seem good to the society in general view but is unfair if we see it through the eyes of humanity. It should be stopped as soon as possible and a new system should be there.

Yes, the death penalty is unjust.

I believe for the worst crime the perpetrator should get life without parole, for many reasons. I am against the death penalty not because of my sympathy for the criminals but because it is ineffective in many of ways, it does not reduce crime rate, costs a whole lot more than life in prison; thus affecting taxpayers, also capital punishment is immensely unjust and worst of all, risks executions of innocent people.

Capital punishment does not reduce the crime rate, according to the Norther California Department of Justice, the state murder rate has declined in the years since the executions stopped. Given this fact, there is no credible argument that the death penalty deters crime.

Taxpayers pay up to $90 000 a year in general population. Federal taxpayers, in the United States have paid more than $250 million for each execution and $57.5 million is the Federal taxpayers cost to hold perpetrators in prison.

Capital punishment is very unjust, it is outstandingly dependant on how much money you have, the skill of their attorneys, how bias the judge is, also depending where you are, and who the judge is they can discriminate against race, who was killed, how and where.

Will you not feel the same if your brother or sister is murdered?

We think about as normal people will do..But we would never feel what a actual victim feels like! Yeah! We can't wash blood with blood but think about, if the culprit doesn't gets his deserved punishment, won't the victim would go out of rage and do something wrong? Would not he/she become a psycho fearing wrong-doer? Maybe some innocent people are punished, but then a hundreds of culprits are punished too...If people don't fear, they will whatever they want.

The death penalty is simply an excuse for humans to murder other humans.

When we as a society condone murder as long as public officials and a jury have decreed that the victim "deserves" it, we know that we have failed. Life in prison is not only cheaper than capital punishment, it is more humane. "A life for a life"- what sort of a way is that to live? Not only does this not correct the crime, but I don't see how it would bring closure to the relatives of the first victim, knowing that at least one other family in the world is suffering the same way they are. No to the death penalty.

The Death Penalty is unjust and costly

There have been many cases where death penalties have been given to innocent people and there will probably be more to come, given the fact that many are based on testimony. It is applied in a way that favors whites. Also, the endless appeals that have to be made by the court end up wasting more money than placing the criminal in prison without parole. Finally, it sends the wrong message: you show that killing is wrong by killing.

Death penalty should stop

I do believe death penalty is unjust!Nobody has the right to kill anybody and it actually doesn't change anything..Countries with no death penalty have less crime rates than countries that do and that says something by it self. Last but not least it is unacceptable that innocent people are being executed for crimes they never committed, I would say that is more than enough to convince us that death penalty is wrong.

Not really unust, but it has a lack of social benefits.

If a person is imprisoned for a crime to society, that person owes a debt to society. It is up to that society to conjure a punishment that not only disciplines the inmate but ensures some reward for the the keeping of the inmate and the crime that was committed.I suggest letting inmates on death row become medical science experiments, and some form of humane slaves to the public which they are indebted.

Once you have destroyed someone's right to life you have no human rights.

Overall I think the death penalty is fair for people who have committed multiple murders, rapes or molestation of children. These people will never be cured or fixed, the best we can do is to try and protect society from them. In England they are given 'life sentences,' but these very rarely actually last for life (some as little as 16 years). Not only are long sentences a burden on the tax payer but I am fed up of hearing on the news that a recently released criminal has re-offended in the most violent way. The problem comes if we execute someone who turns out to be innocent, that would be truly terrible. For the death sentence I feel there should be multiple victims and irrefutable physical evidence.

@TUF

I agree with your headline (lol) but it could be economical. The price of a single .45 ACP round costs anywhere from $0.20 to upwards of around $1 or 2 per bullet. A single bullet wound to the head is almost quick and painless. Guaranteed. And it is not healthier for society as the criminals who are given a "Life" sentence or +25 years normally have a chance to apply for parole, and some criminals do get it. Instead of giving people "Life" sentences and wasting tax dollars on housing and feeding a person who is going to die in for example 40-50 years (20 year old murderer) Why spend thousands of dollars for all of the expenses of someone who is incarcerated when you can simply go Bang for 70 cents and its all over?

No

Many people see the death penalty as unjust or morally wrong. If you look at it from a basic point of view that's been around since the ancient Greeks and Romans, "An eye for an eye". In modern day society, I believe the dealth penalty should be used for only people who muder, rape, both, or goes on a spree either one or both ways. These actions are inhuman and deserve punishment. When someone murders/rapes someone, all human rights of that person is lost, because such actions are unethical. One way of looking at people who do such things, no matter what the reason, is to see them less as a person more as a dangerous, rabid animal that needs to be put down. It isn't wrong to quickly execute a prisoner who has committed such actions and proven 100% guilty.

@G4rwIsdead

You argue that the the application of the death penalty in America is unjust. I would contend that, although there are ways to apply the death penalty in an unjust manner, the idea of a death penalty is all together justified. The penalty is not "fundamentally unfair" as you say, it is just misused in certain cases.

No but we still shouldn't use it

In principle, assuming the convict is guilty, No he took a life he deserves to lose his.
But in practice how do we now we didn't make a mistake? There is no eliminating human error and in this case error is irreversible. So while it is just when used against actual murderers, having it on the books is not because innocent people can be killed.

NO. Death penalty is justice placed in the proper perspective.

For heinous crimes, the trauma it bring to victims (both the direct victims, and his family) is beyond our comprehension. We do not experience the same pain, horror and agony when the life that we treasure is cut short.

When we talk of justice, the first thing that we should remember is the victim.

Death penalty is the highest form of punishment our civil society can administer.

When can we say that justice is served? Only when the equivalent and commensurate punishment is meted out.

Will you not feel the same if your brother or sister is murdered?

We think about as normal people will do..But we would never feel what a actual victim feels like! Yeah! We can't wash blood with blood but think about, if the culprit doesn't gets his deserved punishment, won't the victim would go out of rage and do something wrong? Would not he/she become a psycho fearing wrong-doer? Maybe some innocent people are punished, but then a hundreds of culprits are punished too...If people don't fear, they will whatever they want.

They deserve it

The UK justice system is too soft and needs the death penalty for all murderers and rapists and peedophiles and terrorists. All of those people destroy count less amounts of lives and because of that it is not unjust. The only way that it would be unjust is if the person was executed because of their race.

One alive people is better than two death!

Killing people is unscrupulous. What if you kill someone for their crime? Can it be sth better? I guess no. Capital punishment is a atrocious act. Law is there for social order but it doesn't mean that we should kill people for that at all.

As you know, in US where employs death penalty has even higher homicide rate, whereas, in UK they are no longer using execution as a deterrent.

No, the death penalty is not unjust

When I was between the age of seven and fourteenth, my grandfather was raping me... After seven very painfully years I finally got the courage to say something to my mom. After that we went to the police and after a year of sentencing he got a minimum of two years and a maximum of fifthteen years. I later found out that after just two years in prison he was released and had been free for three months. I still remember what he said to me the day that he had his sentencing, which was that as soon as he gets out he will kill me. So for another year I lived in fear. Now if he would of got the death penalty than I might have not had a pyshic break, maybe?